Basic custard

Master this and a whole world of sweet treats is at your fingertips.

Sep 11, 2007 1:24am

By Emma Knowles

Serves 6

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This recipe makes 1 litre of custard.

Custard. The very word conjures images of nursery-room comfort or of Oliver Twist-esque street urchins carolling the virtues of "cold jelly and custard". The generic term refers to a mixture of cream and eggs thickened by gentle heating, used in dishes ranging from flans, quiches and crème caramel to the Japanese savoury baked custard chawan mushi.

In this case, though, we're talking unctuous pouring custard, quintessentially English (although the French translation, crème Anglaise, sounds much prettier). It's favoured for serving warm alongside steamed puddings and cakes (think Christmas pud and brandy-laced custard) or chilled and layered with jelly, fruit and sponge cake in that other English dessert favourite, the trifle. Its versatility is further evident in its frozen incarnation; churn it using an ice-cream machine and you'll have an ice-cream unrivalled by any commercial preparation.

There are several keys to a perfect custard which will then carry over to a perfect ice-cream, should you decide to take the extra step. Firstly, when whisking your eggs and sugar, be sure to whisk until very thick and pale. This ensures the sugar is well dissolved and aerates the mixture. Secondly, use a heavy-based saucepan when cooking the custard to reduce the possibility of catching or scorching. When cooking the custard, it's best to do so over a low-medium heat, stirring continuously so you don't end up with a scrambled mess. While stirring, you'll notice the bubbles on the surface of the mixture will disappear as the mixture thickens. This is a good visual clue warning you the mixture is almost ready. If you're planning to serve the custard warm, remove from the heat just bef-ore it reaches the desired consistency, as the residual heat will continue cooking the egg proteins. Strain into a wide jug and serve immediately. If you'd like to serve it cold, prepare a large bowl of ice (with some water added) and set a smaller bowl on top. Strain the mixture into the bowl using a fine strainer. Cover closely with plastic wrap and refrigerate to cool completely before churning for ice-cream.

Should you 'split' or slightly scramble the mixture, there may yet be some recourse. If the mixture is only slightly split, whisk it over ice to allow steam to escape, or cool completely and process in a food processor to try to bring the mixture together. Neither of these methods are guaranteed, but are worth the effort to save your bowl of creamy goodness.

Ingredients

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod reserved

600 ml pouring cream

300 ml milk

6 egg yolks

150 gm caster sugar

Method

Main

1

Combine vanilla pod and seeds, cream and milk in a heavy-based saucepan and bring just to the boil over medium heat.

2

Meanwhile, combine egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until very thick and pale.

Cook, stirring continuously, over low-med-ium heat until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

5

Strain into a bowl placed over ice and cool completely.

Notes

Variations on basic custardFor chocolate custard: leave out vanilla and add 200gm finely chopped dark chocolate to the mixture just before straining, mixing well to melt and combine.For honey custard: substitute the sugar with 150gm honey.For passionfruit custard: add 2/3 cup passionfruit pulp to cooled custard mixture.For strawberry custard: add 2/3 cup strawberry purée and 1 tsp lemon juice to cooled custard mixture.To make ice-cream: freeze the cooled custard mixture in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.Trifle To make a lush trifle, coarsely crush some strawberries, a little sugar and a liqueur, such as Grand Marnier, together using a fork. Layer in a large bowl, top with some coarsely crumbled sponge cake (soaked in liqueur) and vanilla custard.